(1) Puppet (Preview)

Nine: Big Bad Wolf

"Are you going to kill me?" I asked bluntly.

She started laughing as if I were a complete idiot, mumbling, "No," then stopped abruptly and appeared to be in deep thought. "Well. Maybe." She started wiping the food off of her lips, only to smear blood on her cheeks. "This is really good," she stated savagely.

My eyes scanned the room, searching for something that could get me out of this mess.

Her laugh caused me to look back over at her. "You're not getting out of here. You could try, but you'll probably just make me mad and then I'll accidentally snap your legs in half."

Trying to be civil, seeing as I'd be the only one, I folded my hands and willed my heart to calm down. Freaking out would not help in that situation. "Okay," I said slowly. "What do you want?"

"Someone to clean up this mess," she motioned to the crumbs on the table and started clapping her hands. "Maid service! They're not so reliable, are they?" The woman started giggling. "Oh wait. I forgot. I killed them."

Okay... okay... think, Ella. Maybe if you take her by surprise. Knock her on the head really hard, then run like hell whilst calling the police.

She was still rambling on about God knows what as I put together a plan. My eyes rested on the plate I used for my sandwich. Without giving myself time to do otherwise, I grabbed it and smashed the side of her face.

I was expecting her to at least fall to the floor. Instead, she seemed dangerously pissed off. I didn't skip a beat as I flew out of my chair and bolted out of the room. My hands pulled out my cell phone as I reached the front door. I was about to open it when I felt something sharp dip into my back and suddenly I was thrown to the ground.

The woman stepped over me with elongated teeth poking through her lips as she snarled at me.

"Bitch, I will tear you apart limb from limb." Her teeth shrunk back into her mouth; it seemed as though she was trying to calm herself down. Her index finger began rubbing her temples. "Don't kill her. Don't kill her. This is harder than it looks."

I tried to pull myself up to stand, although a black heel collided against my chest and pinned me down. "Who the hell are you?" I spat, suddenly full of anger.

"I am Mel Demarco," she greeted easily. "Your worst nightmare."

"Tell me why you're in my house and why you..." My eyes trailed to the blood and I swallowed a lump in my throat. "Why you killed my maids."

"I'm in your house because I need you to come with me. I killed your maids because... well, I was bored," she stated with a lift of a shoulder.

I was fuming by then. "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you crazy?"

Mel's face contorted into another snarl. She knelt down to my level and gripped a hand around my neck. "Don't call me crazy. Got it, bitch?"

My hands weakly pried at hers, winning no victory. By then, my head was full of so much confusion that I wasn't processing correctly. How the hell was I supposed to react to this... murderous crazy girl in my house?

"I said," Mel leaned in closer, inches from my face. "Got it, bitch?"

I managed a nod and she let go of me. I gasped for air in sudden desperation for oxygen. "What do you want from me?" I inwardly cursed myself at how weak I sounded.

"It's not so much as what I want from you. It's more, what you can prove to me."

"What do you mean by that?"